Semaj Bolin’s monster night helps Coronado squeak past Silverado

Semaj Bolin caught a 61-yard touchdown pass and nabbed two interceptions — returning one for a score — as host Coronado rallied to beat Silverado 24-22 on Thursday.

The Cougars trailed the visiting Skyhawks 16-3 at halftime, but found a way to bounce back and make most of the key plays of the second half.

“It was halftime and we were thinking that there were two quarters left in our season and we needed to go for it,” Bolin said. “I told my team that I was going to go out and help get a ‘W’ for them.”

Bolin backed up his words in the fourth quarter, catching a long pass from Keegan Tharp and shaking a Skyhawks defender, for a score that temporarily tied the contest at 16-16 with 10:43 remaining. Gavin Wale’s kick put Coronado (3-6, 1-4 Southeast League) up for the first time in the second half.

On the ensuing offensive play by Silverado, Bolin made a shoestring catch off a deflected Skyhawks pass and returned the interception 24 yards for another score to give the Cougars a 24-16 lead.

“To me, that was the decisive play of the game,” Cougars coach William Froman said. “It was great play by Semaj. He had a bad play in the first half, but he shrugged it off and made about six great plays in the second half.”

In a span of 10 seconds, the Skyhawks went from having a six-point lead to staring at an eight-point deficit. Silverado cut into the lead when Carson Loosbrock hit Bravyn Aquino for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 6:12 left in the fourth quarter. However, Bolin was there again to pick off Loosbrock’s two-point pass attempt.

Silverado had one last chance to drive the ball for a score in the final three minutes. But a Skyhawks holding penalty wiped what would have been a 29-scoring pass from Loosbrock to Joshua Lathers with 1:52 left.

Three plays later, Bolin got his second pick after a Skyhawks pass was tipped around the Coronado 10-yard line with 1:08 left, sealing the game for the host Cougars.

“We told the kids to keep their heads on and keep on trucking,” Froman said. “They have been doing that all season. We were used to being down that we weren’t afraid to be in that position anymore. The team stuck together and never gave up.”

Loosbrock went 13-for-25 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Lathers carried 11 times for 112 yards and a score while also catching four passes for 80 yards for the Skyhawks (2-7, 0-3).

Silverado outgained Coronado 403-149, but the Cougars won the turnover battle 3-1 and registered six sacks.